Present: Lisa Furrie, Iain Wood, Ron Poirier, Maeve McMahon, David Perkins, Chris McCann, Brenda Quinlan, Darlene Charron, Morris Rothman, Sue Stefko, Julie Stephens, Sylvia Milne
The meeting was called to order at 7:12 pm.
Welcome
Iain welcomed everyone to the meeting. Sylvia introduced Julie Stephens to the Board members; Julie was attending the meeting as an observer.
Approval of the agenda
Chris asked to add a discussion regarding GACA’s contribution to the GCA and Brenda asked to add a discussion about Association membership.
David put forward a motion to accept the agenda; Darlene seconded the motion.
Approval of the previous meeting’s minutes
Maeve said that she had spoken to David Chernushenko about the G-Spot co-operative and he had indicated his support of their initiative. He asked that they contact him; this has not happened as of yet.
Chris put forward a motion to accept the agenda; Maeve seconded the motion.
Business arising from previous minutes
Returning to the discussion about how best to get youth representation on the GACA board, Ron said that his neighbours have indicated interest in joining the Board.
Action: Iain will raise this issue when he speaks to the principal of Glebe Collegiate.
Iain said that the principal of Glebe Collegiate asked that he get in contact with the art teachers at the school about the possibility of the students painting a mural on the Vac Shack. It would be a project for the fall of 2014. The only remaining issue is how to pay for the paint.
Iain told the group that the LED pilot project will go ahead with 30 lights being installed in the neighbourhood, likely beginning in the fall.
Darlene commented about the lack of lighting on MacLean Street. Ron added that the LED project will replace existing light bulbs; it does not cover the installation of new light posts. Darlene said that one of the existing lights on MacLean is covered by a tree that needs to be trimmed.
Action: Sylvia has to call Councillor Chernushenko’s office about another matter; she will tell them about the tree that needs to be trimmed.
Iain told the group that he had contacted the city about traffic issues on Bronson at Powell. He has not heard back from anyone as of yet.
Party in the Park
The group discussed what would be needed for the party in the park and who would be able to provide what. This included barbecues and tables. Morris told the group that the Tim Horton’s Community Cruiser would be at the party with free coffee and TimBits. Morris added that he had dropped off a few sponsorship letters at neighbourhood businesses to test the waters in terms of donations. Morris said his goal is to get donations that will cover the cost of the food and drinks that are needed for the party.
Action: Morris will circulate the sponsorship letter to Board members so that they can approach local businesses.
Discussing the flyers, Iain offered to print the flyers that Board members could drop off at neighbourhood homes.
Action: Brenda will staff the membership table at the party.
Turning to a discussion about what (if anything) to charge for the food, the group decided that if the cost of the food was covered by donations from local businesses, the food would be free (with donations encouraged). This would ensure that the event was accessible to everyone in the community.
Action: Lisa will bring colouring sheets and crayons for a children’s activity table. Ron and David will bring barbecues. Julie and David will bring recycling bins. David and Ron will bring coolers.
Morris said he is waiting to see if there is electricity in the park. The permit from the city to use the park will allow access to electricity if it is available.
Morris put forward a motion for there to be a budget of $100 for this event to be used if necessary. Iain moved the motion and it was seconded by Darlene. The motion passed unanimously.
New business
Bronson redevelopment
Chris and Brenda had attended a meeting hosted by the GCA traffic committee. There had also been a representative there from the Dows’ Lake Community Association. While the redevelopment won’t happen before 2017, the intent of the meeting was to start to brainstorm ideas about what the neighbourhoods would like to see on a redeveloped Bronson. Some great suggestions were put forward at the meeting, including red light cameras, bollards, increased sidewalk widths and the installation of an archway that would help designate the area as a residential community. A public advisory committee on the project will be established after the fall’s municipal elections.
Action: Brenda and Chris will email the brainstorming ideas to the Board once they receive it from the GCA.
Rezoning of Ottawa – June meetings
Rezoning meetings will be held on 17 and 18 June, Sylvia said. The meeting on the 17th is dedicated to the central area, while the 18th is focused on Carling. It is difficult to know where our neighbourhood falls in this, Sylvia said. Sylvia and/or Iain will attend the meeting on the 17th. Sylvia said they will watch to see what the city is thinking regarding intensification of our area. As of now, there is no change in the official plan for our area (i.e., Bronson is a traditional main street and Carling is an arterial route).
265 Carling
There has been no change with 265 Carling since May of last year. Sylvia said she is going to different builders in the area to see how their proposed buildings are selling. It seems like the buildings that are currently on the market are not selling particularly quickly.
Sylvia said that she has been in contact with Diane Francis (a lobbyist/blogger) about intensification in Ottawa. Sylvia will provide her with the material that she has gathered about intensification in Ottawa in the hopes that Diane will write an article about indiscriminate development and its effect on cities.
Liaison with the city
Councillor Chernushenko’s office asked that a working group be formed to move forward with the safety audit and LED project.
Action: Sylvia will provide the Councillor’s office with two names: Darlene and Ron.
GCA has spearheaded a project to host an all-candidate’s meeting for the upcoming municipal election. The tentative date for the meeting is 1 October.
GACA’s AGM is scheduled for five days before the municipal election. Councillor Chernushenko has asked to speak at the meeting. Sylvia said she will extend an invitation to speak to all other declared candidates in our area.
Memberships
GACA has not established a policy for corporate memberships, Darlene said. A corporate membership was recently sold for $100. Iain said that businesses would not buy a membership if they felt the price was too high. He suggested waiting to see what the response was from businesses. If businesses were hesitant to buy a membership, GACA could then revisit the price.
Brenda also raised a question about the duration of any memberships sold at this time of the year. Would they be valid until December 2014 and would the price be prorated? Sue suggested that the memberships be prorated at a certain cut-off point in the year.
Maeve suggested offering a two-year membership for $20.
Treasurer’s report
Chris told the group that GACA owes the GCA $144 ($2 per membership sold). Chris said he would be presenting GCA with the money at their AGM, which is scheduled for 10 June.
Chris added that it would be good to have a fourth Board member with signing authority.
Action: Chris will contact the bank to see what needs to be done to have Iain added as a fourth signatory.
Spring clean up
Iain thanked Darlene for spearheading the spring clean up. Darlene said that 25 compost bags and 28 garbage bags had been collected.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:10pm. The next meeting is scheduled for 7pm on 18 June.
